I've watched your video to the it's full extent, this is what the internet should be all about, creating and sharing knowledge for the good of everyone. Most valuable one hour I have spent during the whole week. Thank you so much ! ! !
This is pretty much what I use the internet for. Although the algorithm keeps sending shorts of people going down water park slides and female track and field for some reason.
Then you 'abnormally' comment on the fact that its "so good"? I totally disagree.I normally comment when I see grand work on UA-cam..This DUDE almost certainly guarantees it.. However, in a sense of UA-cam being 'mostly pastiche', The Dude's videos do seem abnormally misplaced.. He needs real investors (educational funding) and a totally different pedagogical venue...btw...I know talent when I see it too..haha
Amazing how Spinoza spent his entire life on this concept and we have it at the free range of our fingertips; further more, the person creating this video and breaking it down to a more understandable concept, is truly luxurious. Thank you so much for your video!
@@ADUAquascaping Let me get this straight; ; You're saying that the ideas of Spinoza are "a giant waste of time", (I have no opinion regarding this), & "these are the ideas you have had your entire life". Then it logically follows, that your life, according to your own admission / observation, must be " a giant waste of time" I'm not trying to be being mean spirited, or judgemental, I'm just connecting the dots as you have presented them.
When I found out about Spinoza, I felt a huge relief. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who idolizes such a mindset. What a beautiful way to see the world. Absolutely incredible job on this video.
Just as long as you remember to think about the cause and perfection. Too many followers of Spinoza today butcher his teachings and essentially only take the easy loads in their life everytime because their selfish and their definition of perfect is complete laziness and stupidity.
@@saythankyou111in terms of humans in positions of stability, preying on other humans in positions of instability, which personality types are more likely to predate, or use systematic and deliberated applications to undermine another in order to foster the circumstances for preying to be easier? Spinosas’ text seems in areas, like criminal pathology? Motive, purpose and ego, didn’t appear in the list of traits of the free psychology? If feelings of power make one free, is self sustainment by the systematic undermining of others stability a sensible action, or is it called fascism by which the cowardly, or whiley prey on the ignorant and innocent to increase the illusion of their own value at another’s expense? 😷 What kind of civilisation would that make? Sounds like the meek would inherit the earth by broadcasting its intelligent influence via a vastness of glow in the dark teeth? Invisible to its own kind, obviously.
Having first watched this when it first came out, going down the rabbit hole, and now coming back to it a couple years later, this video truly changed parts of how I think and interact with the world. Amazing piece of work
Hello, I am a chilean teacher of English who lives in Brazil and fell in love with this channel. It's so good to find a treasure like this, that I consider it my Christmas present.
This is a phenomenal introduction to Spinoza for anyone interested in his ideas. And it was knitted together beautifully with sound and vision. Thank you for this. I've watched it twice, now.
cant believe that nobody sees how flawed spinozas line of thinking is.. 1. you making conscious decisions is still "the universe unfolding". you are still ON THE LINE. your braincells are part of nature. your thoughts (synapses) formed as reaction to outside triggers. you are still as choiceless as you where before. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. its already in the calculation that you will resist your "feelings" at this momment in time when you do it. your still following the feeling that you should ignore your feeling. 2. the chain of events is so unimaginable long. even if you are aware of some causes and effects you only are aware of 0.0000000000000000000000000000001%. you are unaware of more things then you can ever be aware of. even the most ZEN MONK didnt consider every atom in his body at every momment in time relating to every other atom in the universe. so, to think that you can make the universe stop by understanding these rly short chain of events (a tree needs nutrients) is complete arrogant (hybris) and not smart. you breathing still has a butterfly effect! no matter if you resist your feelings.
This video series is the best application of a Philosophy degree I've ever encountered. They are simply briliantly researched and presented. I first watched the Kant video about a year ago, and now I'm watching this one and the one on Marx. This is peak educational UA-cam!
I’ve watched dozens of videos on Spinoza, read dozens of books… including the Ethics. This video is the only time I’ve ever really (really) understood what Spinoza was trying to articulate in his writings. Thank you.
Spinoza is -in essence- the most simple thing to encounter. Go into Tibetan Buddhism and you'll see the same (without the reason/rational part). As a population we still don't grasp the fact that we are one. Simply because extracting resources gives short-term extacy (and long-term suffering). And no, I am not religious, in any way. I just understood Spinoza 25+ years ago.
Indian philosophy speaks the same. Initially to understand the forces of nature ( includes likes dislikes, Good and bad etc and his own action or reaction) through which human being understands that origin of difference broods within due to lack of 'Jnana' . Once it dawns that there is no second thing other than the existence in universe i.e. 'Adwaita' there is no pain or pleasure but only realisation of self and universe as one and there is no distinction between the realizing subject, realized Jnana and the process of realization.
This genuinely turned out so well. This really is one of your best. I definitely didn't expect this to be so in-depth and so representative of the subtextual context with Spinoza! Reading the Ethics alone, in my mind, still doesn't get his objectives across, and you nailed those objectives here. Truly, again, did not expect this video to turn out so well. Even happier that I was able to be apart of this. Thanks for allowing me to be apart of this! (Sorry in advance to everyone, Lewis's voice is much better than mine. My voice kind of sucks. But, you need the bad to recognize the good, yeah?)
You only need the bad until you can recognize the good. After that the bad is no longer needed. I think sometimes that obvious fact is ignored by people or not seen.
@@bbk9787 why are you so rude? I'm actually 34 years old. I invite you to watch some video on "ego death" or "satori state", if you want to explore the connection between tripping and Spinoza. I understand that people who got to experience Spinoza's God by practicing meditation look down upon those who did via LSD or DMT.
I dunno…5 minutes in and still nothing. “Let me me make some generalized introductory comments to lead into the next set of generalized introductory comments.” Everything is everything.
I don't believe in the idea of a "life changing video" but this has to be an exception. And the way you have explained and taught Spinoza's ideas is awe-inspiring.
@@Explorer-7 To believe is not to trust but to have faith; to trust is a more concrete idea which is to know that your faith is true objectively. Maybe I wrongly used the word "believe" I should have said, "I had no idea life changing videos existed." Thanks for pointing this out hope I can become more articulate as I get older.
@@HVAC356 sometimes something can be both simple and obvious and also life-changing... it just depends how the concepts meet you and interact with you. What may move one person might have no effect on another simply based on what ideas each person has encountered already
How would you prove robot has consciousness using empirical data. How do you prove to blind man what color red is using empirical data. In theory, robot can be programmed to move its hand when it touches hot surface. How do I know its having the experience of hot using test tube(Deduction/induction). The only thing i am certain of is that i have experience of hot. This experience can only come from entity that can already experience existence (Allah-one/indivisible/self-sufficient/unique/All-Loving infinite perfection). If you cannot prove your own consciousness using “scientific method”, then how can you reject the existence of Perfect/infinite metaphysical being(Allah)? “Cogito ergo sum”( I think therefore I am) should be read as “cogito ergo est”(I think therefore Allah is)
As a callow and confused youth I tried, and mostly failed, to understand The Ethics. A long life later your breakdown of his message sits well within me. I really enjoyed this content. Thank you so much.
In my 7+ years on UA-cam I don't think I've ever before immediately replayed a video longer than 10 minutes to which I was fully paying attention. The ideas expressed here are so profound and line up so beautifully with so many of the mini-philosophies I've formed over the course of my years as a fully self-aware human being. I'm sure I would've eventually learned about Spinoza one way or another but this is the most compelling introduction I could've possibly asked for. Thank you for putting this out into the world.
You're just another person looking for what you want to hear and deny the existence of God. Nature isn't a conscious intelligent being, it is the result of a conscious intelligent being.
I’ve been a huge fan of this channel for awhile, but this one is incredible in every sense: production(!!!), narration, pacing, music, etc. I’m absolutely blown away...terrific work.
wasn't very good academically. Read a little Spinoza and you will see the dramatic drop in clarity of his message here. this is like a badly written Spinoza commercial or something. if you Read the mans work you will be in for a boon instead of a stupid sweet treat like this. He's also just wrong about certain fashionable aspects of the literature. He's Derivative in the 20th cent way of slang meaning.
Thanks for making this video. Spinosa was always on my list of philosopher but very hard to read and understand without a teacher or explanations. I finally had a great introduction to his way of thinking, which are truly beautiful and inspiring. I find my self agreed with him in most of his reasoning.
This is so good! I' ve been in my life bubble for days, and this video made me realizes how I had reacted to many affects in my life, and this made me changed my perspective towards it. I'm getting interested in the work of Spinoza, thanks for making this video!
Good lord this presentation is absolutely amazing! The more I more look into philosophy, the stronger the urge grows in me to become a knower and re-distributer of philosophy. I'm not trying to down play Spinoza in any way here.. just saying, many of he's concepts and ideas of freedom, relativity and the web-like structure of nature are almost identical to the shamanic philosophies of ancient Mexico, dating back thousands of years before his human birth. Great ideas never die. Peace from Denmark 🇩🇰
I loved coming upon this beautiful (in many ways) video. I see how through the years of our human existence, this information has come through. It seems to me that what Spinoza tapped into is the Universal knowledge that the ancient ones before him also expressed. Yes, I see it in the Shamans, in the Vedas and other teachings from Ancient India. These teaching are currently being embraces through what some people categorize as New Age. I believe they are the closest TRUTH of this experience we are living. Thank you to Spinoza and all those who have reminded us of this glory.
Animism has been sharing these same ideas of connectivity of all things for thousands of years. And then we have also advaita vedanta and daoism which share same concepts about identifying self as the universe thousands of years before Spinoza. Perhaps, until few centuries ago these ideas weren't shared yet to the west world, so for that area Spinoza was the first to talk loudly about this philosophy towards life. Nevertheless, it does not matter who was first to bring up this philosophy. All is one!
Damn. From killer leftist content on political theory, to current affairs, to Spinoza and the interconnected nature of all things...with Epoch Philosophy narrating to boot. This is surely one of my new favorite channels. Thank you for all the stellar work you do Then & Now. Keep knocking it out of the park.
@Ed His channel is most certainly focused on leftist content. He doesn't make his aesthetic centered around that. But it is what it is. He's a progressive/leftist. If me acknowledging that turned you off, then do a deep dive on what actual leftism is, and then go and watch Then and Now's content and get back to me.
@Ed And no. Fence sitting in a time when the right is actively looking and succeeding at rolling back the rights of women and minorities, while embracing Christian Nationalism and trying to turn the entire country against LGBTQ ppl...you ever heard the Edmund Burke quote? "For evil to triumph all that is necessary is for good men to do nothing." While I get what you're trying to say; you're making a statement against tribalism...at this point and juncture of time, we don't have a whole lot of choice. I hate tribalism as much as the next guy, but these tribes do exist. If I could snap my fingers and do away with a left/right divide, I would. Sadly, that's not a choice. If one side wants to limit individual freedom while the other side wants to protect and enable said freedom, then I'm going with the side that is in defense of freedom.
Leftists are the worst possible people for the earth. Read Ted Kaczynski's book, "Industrial society and it's future", and learn about yourself and all other leftists from someone intelligent. Politics are a joke meant to distract and divide the unwashed masses. No different than two fans of rival sports teams going at it. The sport organizers and the teams/players always win in the end regardless of who wins the game.
@@chickensalad7199 If you want a world where everyone is equal, then you first have to do away with Islam, a religion where LGBT and women's rights are non existent. You have to do away with most minorities too, because minorities are some of the most conservative people in their beliefs. You know what else you have to do away with? Leftist politicians keeping blacks and other minorities poor, uneducated and addicted to drugs. How can there be equality when welfare exists for these perfectly able people to not work and sit at home or on the streets all day supported by Gov't assistance programs? Why do they need asistance in the first place? Are they taught to not work hard like everyone else? Are they given assistance and unfair advantages and oppurtunities like getting into college easier or employers being required to hire a certain number of minorities like black people because leftist politics see them as unequal to whites? These are the questions you should ask yourself. I am a first gen Mexican immigrant to the USA btw, I'm not some white supremacist.
This video is really amazing, the amount of knowledge shared, the great examples, the peaceful narration, I absolutely loved every minute of it and will be re watching often.
What an absolutely amazing job presenting this topic. You took something that was extremely difficult to portray and with your visual, personal and quotations from the masters this really is a top-notch piece of educational work. As a Director in the TV business for 20 years, I will be sharing this video with my close friends who are interested in such topics. The difficult thing is still trying to introduce these topics to people, who are just not interested and improving and unfolding their own lives so it’s up to us educate ourselves to be more calm and rational and difficult times so we can be good models in society. Thank you again for sharing.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m thrilled to hear that you found the presentation effective and valuable. It’s great that you’ll be sharing it with your friends! I completely agree that educating ourselves is crucial for fostering calm and rational discussions in society. Your support means a lot!
I have spent a huge amount of time meditating on Spinoza's Philosophy. I even wrote a masters thesis on the Ethics. Your presentation is beautiful. Thank you!
My approach was to examine the interrelationships in the "Ethics" of his metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics that lead to his climactic conclusion that the intellectual love of God is identical with God's love being returned. Hence, I treated it as a full-fledged spiritual instruction in the tradition of the more general Socratic/Platonic spiritual tradition otherwise known simply as western philosophy. In other words, I hypothesis that an essential aspect of western philosophy as espoused by Socrates/Plato is its being a spiritual path. An extremely difficult path to traverse, but as Socrates/Plato implied and Spinoza explicitly stated, it must be difficult otherwise how can we account for the fact that so few have traveled the road sufficiently.
I'm not religious now, nor have I ever been. But since this video came out every couple weeks I will relisten to it and I can only imagine I feel like churchgoers do when the pastor is really spitting. Spinosa seems to tie together many course ideas I had swimming in my head about life, meaning, etc in a way I never could. And your presentation and expansion of the material is perfect
Incredibly Swell Done! Awesome use of technology… Just spent Christmas morning repeatedly viewing! Wrote a dissertation, “Bodies of Knowledge: Perception in Spinoza & Whitehead” So Glad George Elliot’s English translation of Spinoza’s Ethics from 1858 was finally published… Clare Carlisle, Moira Gatens, other women, also offer important perspectives on Spinoza… Thank you!
I have read Spinoza's writings since I was ten years old in the Great Books of the Western World collection in 1954. I have often wondered why the rest of world didn't appreciate his insight and ideas. It is always a pleasure to discover that his wonderful works are being discovered by future generations.
This was freaking AWESOME! Could not stop listening. I heard little snips of Spinoza many times but never dug deeper, been focusing on other philosophers. This was so educational and your voice is soothing. 🙌🏽 🧠💡⚡️🌅 👁 🌈 🐲 🎯 Great for the entire family too.
philosophy: the love of wisdom, normally encapsulated within a formal academic discipline. Wisdom is the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, insight, and good judgment. Wisdom may also be described as the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period. E.g. “The wisdom of the Tibetan lamas.” Unfortunately, in most cases in which this term is used, particularly outside India, it tacitly or implicitly refers to ideas and ideologies that are quite far-removed from genuine wisdom. For instance, the typical academic philosopher, especially in the Western tradition, is not a lover of actual wisdom, but a believer in, or at least a practitioner of, adharma, which is the ANTITHESIS of genuine wisdom. Many Western academic (so-called) “philosophers” are notorious for using laborious sophistry, abstruse semantics, gobbledygook, and pseudo-intellectual word-play, in an attempt to justify their blatantly-immoral ideologies and practices, and in many cases, fooling the ignorant layman into accepting the most horrendous crimes as not only normal and natural, but holy and righteous! An ideal philosopher, on the other hand, is one who is sufficiently intelligent to understand that morality is, of necessity, based on the law of non-violence (“ahiṃsā”, in Sanskrit), and sufficiently wise to live his or her life in such a harmless manner. Cf. “dharma”. One of the greatest misconceptions of modern times is the belief that philosophers (and psychologists, especially) are, effectively, the substitutes for the priesthood of old. It is perhaps understandable that this misconception has taken place, because the typical priest/monk/rabbi/mullah seems to be an uneducated buffoon compared with those highly-educated gentlemen who have attained doctorates in philosophy, psychology and psychiatry. However, as mentioned in more than a few places in this book, it is imperative to understand that only an infinitesimal percentage of all those who claim to be spiritual teachers are ACTUAL “brāhmaṇa” (as defined in Chapter 20). Therefore, the wisest philosophers of the present age are still those exceptionally rare members of the Holy Priesthood! At the very moment these words of mine are being typed on my laptop computer, there are probably hundreds of essay papers, as well as books and articles, being composed by professional philosophers and theologians, both within and without academia. None of these papers, and almost none of the papers written in the past, will have any noticeable impact on human society, at least not in the realm of morals and ethics, which is obviously the most vital component of civilization. And, as mentioned in a previous paragraph, since such “lovers-of-wisdom” are almost exclusively adharmic (irreligious and corrupt) it is indeed FORTUITOUS that this is the case. The only (so-called) philosophers who seem to have any perceptible influence in the public arena are “pop” or “armchair” philosophers, such as Mrs. Alisa “Alice” O’Connor (known more popularly by her pen name, Ayn Rand), almost definitely due to the fact that they have published well-liked books and/or promulgate their ideas in the mass media, especially on the World Wide Web.
@@sarahhall5714 Watts is as deep as a puddle, only appealing to depressed teenage girls. To imply he's anywhere near the level of complexity of Spinoza is laughable.
Spinozas Ethics suck. Some preconceived ideas pretending tue be truths obscured by the “geometrical method”. Nietzsche was absolutely right about Spinoza.
What I love about this vid is that I vividly remember when at 15-16 wandering a pine woods in Wisconsin, pausing to read Epictetus beneath trees, observing everything, that much the same conclusions as those of Spinoza came to me---modes of things intrinsically interconnected. But all was forgotten soon enough! How odd to rediscover it here. In Mod.Philo. at college we only touched on Spinoza briefly as a response to Descartes (---sad.)!& At 15, "infinite causality" for me was a revery, and daydream. Now such for me is free will....
Great stuff. A lot of good writing here. You express a deep understanding of these men’s thoughts. Thanks for making my day more beautiful and for helping me not to feel alone in my ongoing pondering about life. When questions have lost their thirst and inside seems dreary and bare. You shed a little light across my window seal and caused the air to come alive like back when we used to sing and dance what a lovely passing of time…
Very well made, engaging. Great personality and tone of voice gave way to a good amount of attentive listening. I was looking for a summary of Spinoza that would engage me and this is it. Well worth sharing. Thank you.
Many thanks! As a Philosophy major in the early 70’s, I ran through Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz as rationalists, but focused elsewhere in my electives. Most useful!
philosophy: the love of wisdom, normally encapsulated within a formal academic discipline. Wisdom is the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, insight, and good judgment. Wisdom may also be described as the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period. E.g. “The wisdom of the Tibetan lamas.” Unfortunately, in most cases in which this term is used, particularly outside India, it tacitly or implicitly refers to ideas and ideologies that are quite far-removed from genuine wisdom. For instance, the typical academic philosopher, especially in the Western tradition, is not a lover of actual wisdom, but a believer in, or at least a practitioner of, adharma, which is the ANTITHESIS of genuine wisdom. Many Western academic (so-called) “philosophers” are notorious for using laborious sophistry, abstruse semantics, gobbledygook, and pseudo-intellectual word-play, in an attempt to justify their blatantly-immoral ideologies and practices, and in many cases, fooling the ignorant layman into accepting the most horrendous crimes as not only normal and natural, but holy and righteous! An ideal philosopher, on the other hand, is one who is sufficiently intelligent to understand that morality is, of necessity, based on the law of non-violence (“ahiṃsā”, in Sanskrit), and sufficiently wise to live his or her life in such a harmless manner. Cf. “dharma”. One of the greatest misconceptions of modern times is the belief that philosophers (and psychologists, especially) are, effectively, the substitutes for the priesthood of old. It is perhaps understandable that this misconception has taken place, because the typical priest/monk/rabbi/mullah seems to be an uneducated buffoon compared with those highly-educated gentlemen who have attained doctorates in philosophy, psychology and psychiatry. However, as mentioned in more than a few places in this book, it is imperative to understand that only an infinitesimal percentage of all those who claim to be spiritual teachers are ACTUAL “brāhmaṇa” (as defined in Chapter 20). Therefore, the wisest philosophers of the present age are still those exceptionally rare members of the Holy Priesthood! At the very moment these words of mine are being typed on my laptop computer, there are probably hundreds of essay papers, as well as books and articles, being composed by professional philosophers and theologians, both within and without academia. None of these papers, and almost none of the papers written in the past, will have any noticeable impact on human society, at least not in the realm of morals and ethics, which is obviously the most vital component of civilization. And, as mentioned in a previous paragraph, since such “lovers-of-wisdom” are almost exclusively adharmic (irreligious and corrupt) it is indeed FORTUITOUS that this is the case. The only (so-called) philosophers who seem to have any perceptible influence in the public arena are “pop” or “armchair” philosophers, such as Mrs. Alisa “Alice” O’Connor (known more popularly by her pen name, Ayn Rand), almost definitely due to the fact that they have published well-liked books and/or promulgate their ideas in the mass media, especially on the World Wide Web.
II am an amateur obsessed with Spinoza and Deleuze. I have read the Ethics many times. It is an excellent explanation. It is generally believed that there is no free will in Spinoza. Spinoza's interpretation of free will is unique for me. If you study Spinoza enough to understand him in an adequate way, his influence on you will increase geometrically. I think he is a philosopher who should be studied very well. I congratulate you and thank you again.
I had just started reading Joyful Militancy: Building Thriving Resistance in Toxic Times by Nick Montgomery and carla bergman when you released this. What timing. I had read “Spinoza’s concept of joy is not an emotion at all, but an increase in one’s power to affect and be affected” minutes before hearing you say the last part in the video
Thanks for bringing to life the Ethics.... Possibly the hardest and most obnoxious format a book has ever been written in... Although the thoughts contained therein are gold. Great work with this video 👍
While studying Spinoza, I found it super interesting that as he ground the lenses for glasses, corresponded with Descartes (if I remember correctly), and studied or was required to study Sephardic Mysticism. Thanks for the work on this. It’s been almost 30 years since I studied critical thinking.
I also worked in an optical lab, and I spent a lot of time grinding glass lenses, and because of muscle memory, you can let your mind wander as you think about other things. For the longest time, I've been more in a Pantheistic state of mind, and I've never bought into the God outside of the Universe. I like to remind myself that it's all included!!! If someone finds something that they think is outside, they really just need to redraw the borderline, and accept that it always was a part of everything else.
i discovered your channel this morning and I'm blown away, you've changed my entire perspective on life in a couple of hours. Your videos are amazing and so cleverly presented yet easily understandable, I've learned so much already, thank you! Wish you all the best for this channel, you deserve so much more exposure! I will certainly recommend it to every single person I know lol
Excellent video about one of the most important philosophers in the Western thought. Among the number of really helpful things Spinoza does, one of the things I've always seen him doing (and appreciated) is a kind of syncing of Epicurean and Stoic thought.
8:54 In my experience my loved one contracted cancer and we spent so much time that we could against the creepy feelings of limitations that's finding ourselves in nature and enjoying abundance of everything being the same natural nature that we all can find. We didn't take it for granted anymore. Each and everything we saw is new and we found each moment as abundantly unique but not separate. We found ourselves as for the Spinoza did... Knowing god is the universe.
In college, I had a good friend I'd discuss my view of the world with. Thankfully, my friend was in a philosophy class at the time and told me a lot of what I believed was very similar to the writings of Spinoza. I've been fascinated ever since. Great video. Thank you.
monism: the view in metaphysics that reality (that is, Ultimate Reality) is a unified whole and that all existing things can be ascribed to or described by a single concept or system; the doctrine that mind and matter are formed from, or reducible to, the same ultimate substance or principle of being; any system of thought that seeks to deduce all the varied phenomena of both the physical and spiritual worlds from a single principle, specifically, the metaphysical doctrine that there is but one substance, either mind (idealism) or matter (materialism), or a substance that is neither mind nor matter, but is the substantial ground of both. Cf. “dualism”. To put it simply, whilst materialists/physicalists/naturalists believe that the ground of being is some kind of tangible form of matter (or a field of some sort), and idealists/theists/panpsychists consider some kind of mind(s) or consciousness(es) to be most fundamental, MONISTS understand that Ultimate Reality is simultaneously both the Subject and any possible object, and thus one, undivided whole (even though it may seem that objects are, in fact, divisible from a certain standpoint). The descriptive term favoured in the metaphysical framework proposed in this Holy Scripture is “Brahman”, a Sanskrit word meaning “expansion”, although similes such as “Sacchidānanda” (Eternal-Conscious-Peace), “The Tao” and “The Monad” are also satisfactory. Perhaps the oldest extant metaphysical system, Advaita Vedānta, originating in ancient Bhārata (India), which is the thesis promulgated in this treatise, “A Final Instruction Sheet for Humanity”, is a decompositional dual-aspect monist schema, in which the mental and the physical are two (epistemic) aspects of an underlying (ontic) reality that itself is neither mental nor physical, but rather, psychophysically neutral. On such a view, the decomposition creates mutually-exclusive mental (subjective) and physical (objective) domains, both of which are necessary for a comprehensive metaphysical worldview. The mere fact that it is possible for Awareness to be conscious of Itself, implies that, by nature, Ultimate Reality is con-substantially BOTH subjective and objective, since it would not be possible for a subject to perceive itself unless the subject was also a self-reflective object. The term “transjective” has been coined by contemporary scholars to account for precisely this reality. This subject-object duality, and the notion of the transjective, is foundational to a complete understanding of existence/beingness. Therefore, it seems that the necessary-contingent dichotomy often discussed by philosophers in regards to ontology, is superfluous to the concept of monism, because on this view, BOTH the subjective and the objective realities are essentially one, necessary ontological Being(ness). In other words, because you are, fundamentally, Brahman, you are a necessary being and not contingent on any external force. This concept has been termed "necessitarianism" by contemporary philosophers, in contradistinction to "contingentarianism" - the view that at least some thing could have been different otherwise - and is intimately tied to the notions of causality and determinism in Chapters 08 and 11. Advaita Vedānta (that is, dual-aspect Monism) is the only metaphysical scheme that has complete explanatory power. Hypothetically, and somewhat tangentially, one might question thus: “If it is accurate to state that both the Subject of all subjects and all possible objects are equally ‘Brahman’ (that is, Ultimate Truth), then surely that implies that a rock is equally valuable as a human being?”. That is correct purely on the Absolute platform. Here, in the transactional world of relativity, there is no such thing as equality, except within the conceptual sphere (such as in mathematics), as already demonstrated in more than a couple of places in this Holiest of Holy Books, “F.I.S.H”, especially in the chapter regarding the spiteful, pernicious ideology of feminism (Chapter 26). Cf. “advaita”, “dualism”, “Brahman/Parabrahman”, “Saguna Brahman”, “Nirguna Brahman”, “subject”, “object” and “transjective”.
Hey! 😳 This was recommended to me.., I scrolled past but paused and thought hmmm “ya never know, could be a surprise and be good” 🤷🏼♂️ And guess what..?? So good!! Thanks for quality!
@@donaldclifford5763 Ah I see. thanks. for my part the reading of Spinoza here is over reaching, downplaying what he was saying and projecting it's view on his words instead of trying to take them at their own worth. not fair to him. Thanks again Donald. gd luck have fun.
Thank you very much for this. A little embarrassed to admit, I only now found out of Spinoza and his philosophies. Something I read yesterday Einstein said essentially stating he believed in "the God of Spinoza".
I'm still confused. If we don't have free will how do we choose? Or did I misunderstand? I have my own personal philosophy that does not correlate with Spinoza if he's saying we don't have free will. And it seems to be contradictory to his own position...
@@1fast72nova as far as I see it and possibly what Spinoza may be saying, is we are a result of our environment and as such we react to it. In being reactionary rather than analytical, unable/unwilling to consider many perspectives or connections we are in a sense living pre-determined lives. The undeniable fact that we are beholden to the place/time of our birth as well as other circumstances we find outside of our control makes some think life is predetermined. However, our self determination results from the accumulation of wisdom (understanding) and experience; as well as the correct application of said aspects in order to enact a change in our lives that we consider to be positive and thus is our own experience. The question becomes then, can you self select your interest and ideas and what you consider to be positive or negative or is that too inherited by pure circumstance; to what degree can you use your understandings to shape and change yourself, and is there any you at all deciding? The exact mechanism of such a system is up for debate, personally I have my own views on how free will fundamentally relates to how consciousness and personal experiences operate. Spinoza says all is one, and god is nature, one and the same. I agree, my question is if all is one then does all act just the same as we do, growing and changing in accordance to stimuli. And if so then is said all really the result of the many and the singular peoples and things conscious choices? In essence, is our impact both infinitely small and infinitely large in scope? Do our choices propagate and continuously select our next destination, cause and effect, on every scale? Not simply the one we can see/experience in front of us? Sorry for the rambling at the end but these things spark many questions in me as-well and I’m hoping some other soul will come along and share their ideas/questions as I have here. Hope all is well for you my friend, may life’s waters rock you gently into sleep
@@taconator1213 good post. I started reading "ethics" and alot of it went over my head. I'm having to take Spinoza slowly. Although I don't subscribe to his every thought, his works inspire me to look into my own perspectives.
Can I ask where the concept of “go with your heart” or “go with your gut” comes into this idea that being rational is preferred path to take? The mind surely doesn’t trump the emotions everytime? If for example we took the rational path everytime and experienced little emotional upset or indeed elation, would we not be robbing ourselves of the extremes of lifes emotions, the experience of contrast that drives our desire? Do we want to feel it all or think it all? Being always rational seems somewhat sterile, a balanced mind emotional approach might be perfect but Is there really a right way to do live a good or a perfect life?
You did a fantastic job and thank you for spreading the wisdom to all. As an artist, I named myself 'Joylove' based on Spinoza's philosophy as joy and love, like you've mentioned, bring us to our greatest version.
Wow. Just WOW!! I have been ostracized by my family for not taking the jab, and it's been a long and VERY hard lonely road to travel. I said a sincere prayer for guidance yesterday after another tirade from my eldest, and now came upon this video. You have NO idea how eye-opening this is to me. It makes EVERYTHING fall into place for me as I did not understand WHY I was so adamant about resisting all the hype. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I saw a video the other day about how ALL trees in a forest are connected by their roots, so this is like another confirmation for me.
Watching again. Very good work. Thank you! However, at the age of 70, although I agree with Spinoza that the only way is Rationality (or Chaos) I think, in the end, his is not a Rationalist but rather an Idealist. Most people are "fated" to live and make others live miserably. And nothing can be done beyond Acceptance. So, acceptance, in the end, is the key.
I'm 41, love books on history, philosophy, Bible, God, spiritual ideas and truths... Ummmm how am I just hearing about this Spinoza now? Edit: UA-cam algorithm department needs a supervisor so their staff can supervise AND put out there all greater content! This is almost ridiculous. Thank you guys! for your time and effort in making great contents• And thank you UA-cam..., for having great challenging roles...
Had a seminar on Spinoza and embarked on a 15 year meditation on good and evil, interplay between the life if the mind, the interplay between the mental and physical, reason and emotions. Powerful.
I am really glad to know that BURTON L. CUMMINGS IS NOT GOD. Even though he is convinced and believes he is. He is so damaged by drugs, his pedophilia addiction, fake personality and lies about his past, Cummings is not able to maintain his life anymore. He should be investigated for many crimes against all of us. One false GOD to dispel.
I tried to understand spinozas god by reading many blogs, articles, books etc.. but I never understood it... thanks for your video, which made it incredibly simple to understand.
I tried to read The Ethics but gave up, too difficult for my restless mind. I am deeply grateful to this great documentary which has made his philosophy accessible to me. And what a wonderful philosophy it is, so useful for guiding us in Life!
I relate. I have an MA, was once a Mensa member, but I cannot read and understand original philosophical works, in particular Kant, Wittgenstein, Heidegger. The best I can do is read secondary explanations of what these authors are saying.
@@NameRequiredSoHere I imagine the longer you immerse yourself in their writing, eventually it just clicks, like learning a language, poetry, philosphy/lit. at lower levels. They are just near black belt levels of readability and digestability. But who has time for that?
Your program was just starting and on in the background while I was deep in thought. The ideas and philosophy is what I needed, at a time where I was in the middle of a difficult decision. Thank you, it was very interesting and very informative.
WELL DONE all the way around. How amazingly verifying that only now have I encountered works about Spinoza. Profoundly thanking you from Chicago, Illinois USA, for sharing via UA-cam.
Well edited with good narration, the concepts were made clear as if you had thought of them yourself, and of course spinoza’s philosophy is brilliantly simple, interesting, and practical. Amazing video, 5/10
Everyone watching this might be interested in, "the law of one, the Ra material. Exactly the same concept, channeled through an alien in the 1980s. I'm loving all the synchronicities in my life ever since 2022 started. It's the sign that things are tightening up and falling in place for the mass awakening.
🐟 17. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN SPIRITUAL AWAKENING, LIBERATION, & ENLIGHTENMENT: AWAKENING: Any person who has experienced a state of cosmic awareness can rightly be called a “buddha” (a Sanskrit/Pali term for “an awakened being”). During such TEMPORAL experiences (that is, they begin at some point in time and then end at a subsequent point in time, even if at the time of death), there is usually an apparent dissolution of the subject-object dichotomy, or at least a radical shift in one’s perception of life. In the most profound awakening experience, the perceiver, the perceived, and the perceiving, mystically unify (“advaita anubhava”, in Sanskrit). Awakening means to clearly see that one’s persona is but a character in a dream of The Absolute, and that one is essentially that Flawless Awareness. Therefore, it is not to be taken literally - that the person wakes from the “Cosmic Dream” in the same way that a human wakes from a night dream. It simply implies that the person realizes that he/she is one of the multitude of dream CHARACTERS, and that individual free-will was purely an illusion. When one experiences a night dream, one usually identifies with only one particular character (for example, “last night, I dreamed that I played chess with the prince”). However, all the characters in one's dream originate in the very same mind. Similarly, the living creatures in this universe are naught but characters in the “Mind of God”, to put it in theistic terms. During such awakenings, one experiences the non-conceptual state, which is somewhat akin to the state of equanimous mind or "steady-mind" (“samādhi”, in Sanskrit). However, samādhi is usually a far longer-term state of being, normally arising after lengthy periods of practice. Spiritual awakening is a relatively common phenomenon. In fact, there are most probably MILLIONS of persons currently on earth who have experienced some kind of awakening, where they directly perceive themselves to be more than a mere body-mind complex. The experience can be either totally spontaneous, or it can follow many decades of intense spiritual practice (“sādhanā”, in Sanskrit). However, there is no direct causal link between religious practices and awakening experiences, despite what most religionists (“sādhaka”, in Sanskrit) believe. It is common for newly-awakened persons to CONFUSE and conflate relative and absolute truth. That is to say, when neophyte buddhas speak of relative concepts, they invariably use absolute terms. This is colloquially known as the “spiritual side-step” or as “spiritual bypassing”. For instance, they may make such statements as: “You don't exist”; “Nothing ever happened”; “There is no right or wrong”; “Everything and/or everyone is equal”; “I am not my body”; “We are One”; and “I am you, and you are me”. Hopefully, such persons will come to see that there is no need to speak about everything from the Absolute perspective. Verily, it is unbeneficial to the persons with whom they are conversing (unless, of course, those third persons are thoroughly deluded materialists, who are unable to see beyond the physical realm). Awakening to one’s true nature does NOT automatically promote one to being a saint, since one’s unique characteristics, flaws and obsessions may perdure. There is an abundance of evidence that awakening experiences can be induced simply by the administration of certain hallucinogenic drugs, so to claim that one is exceptionally remarkable just for being a buddha, is rather conceited. Unfortunately (for spiritual-seekers), there is a multitude of awakened or partially-awakened persons who mistakenly believe that they are somehow enlightened masters, and proceed to embark on a teaching career. The fact is, practically every one of these BOGUS “gurus” are afflicted with a narcissistic, demonic mentality, bereft of morality, and ought to be exposed and denounced for the fraudsters that they are. As will be very succinctly explained in forthcoming chapters of this Holy Scripture, it is the sacred duty of members of the Priesthood ALONE to disseminate religious/spiritual knowledge throughout society (or to be more accurate, teach seminarians and the leader of the government, who in turn teach other men, who in turn teach their own subordinates). Simply attaining a “spiritual state”, even with the benefit of a vast body of knowledge, does not automatically confer authority on a person to become a spiritual master (“guru”, in Sanskrit). There is, in fact, an enormous gulf between the two (that is, between an awakened non-priest working as a spiritual teacher, and an enlightened spiritual master). Most persons would undoubtedly disapprove of a person stealing the property of another, yet think nothing of a working-class chap or a mere woman performing the function of a priest (“brāhmaṇa”, in Sanskrit). The fact is, when any person (other than a priest/guru) assumes the role of a spiritual leader, he or she is quite LITERALLY stealing the occupation of a priest. The phrase “The blind leading the blind” is pertinent here. By understanding the entirety of this “Final Instruction Sheet for Humanity”, it shall assist one in the discernment necessary to distinguish an actual spiritual master from a person who may superficially seem to be a wise and holy teacher by the masses, yet is, in fact, a charlatan. Unfortunately, only a wise sage can identify his peers, so it requires a genuine prophet to recognize which spiritual teachers are ACTUAL masters. Nevertheless, as a general rule, at least ninety-nine per cent of those giving spiritual precepts to society, are unqualified to do so (see Chapter 20 to know the prerequisites for a member of the Holy Priesthood. Despite what many believe, priests are not at all ordinary men). LIBERATION: “Liberation” means “freedom”. Thus, a liberated soul is a person who has become emancipated from the five kinds of suffering (blame, shame, pride, regrets/expectations, and anxiety), all of which are based on the belief in personal AGENCY. Read Chapter 15 to understand the nature of suffering, and Chapter 11 to understand that humans are not independent agents with freedom of volition. Awakening experiences are not a prerequisite to being liberated from suffering. LIKEWISE, not all liberated persons are automatically enlightened (at least not to the degree necessary in order to be labelled as such), but there is a strong correlation between the two states of being. It's possible to be liberated, whilst not possessing a deep understanding of life. A liberated person is scarce, because very few understand the true nature of suffering, and of those who do understand the distinction between psycho-physical pain and ACTUAL (psychological) suffering, it is difficult to surrender to one's circumstances, free of obsessive thinking and judging. Liberated souls are usually those who have diligently practiced one of the four systems of yoga described in Chapter 16. Cont...
I've really enjoyed this, thank you. 🙏🏽 I listen to your videos almost every single night. I don't agree with everything, nor am I supposed to. I appreciate your videos because they make me think about the topics. They remind me of my love of wisdom.
Thank you all my life I was repulsed by people whose life was guided by impulse & irrational but now it all makes sense because the result of their lives speaks for itself & shows Spinoza's wisdom.
Brilliantl video, really engaging and informative. Best video on Spinoza I have seen. The berry is not a cowberry by the way, but more likely a rosehip.
Good stuff.. Life is a journey. We ask questions to the Universe and it always answers. Sometimes it takes years of trying to figure it out. And then one day you get the answer and remember the journey you chose in order to receive that answer. Story of the High road or Low road perspective. The Moral high ground will always get you there safely. The low road is more exciting and full of danger and endless possibilities and choices. Being built for the low road is what it takes to eventually make it back to that fork in the road. And continue on with wisdom.
Technology. The internet. AGI. This is how I feel the East and West will one day come together. Having been born in India and learnt and understood the concepts in this video through stories since childhood, I can really relate to Spinoza - a great mind born in the West who likely had little or no access to Eastern / Vedic texts. All the secrets of the universe might already have been written down. It’s the limitation of our minds (and our dogmas) that perhaps prevent us from realizing it.
I was fortunate to find the Mahabharata, which opened up my mind! I have a devotion to Ganesha, and still enjoy learning about Indian spirituality. This video is supportive of mindfulness, which I have taught after studying Indian Yoga Breath with Dr. Nair. It’s a beautiful world and I seek validation of my ideology of Beauty every day. I hope I will find my way to visit India one day.
Great video, thanks! Still i have a different interpretation of conatus. I think that Spinoza calls conatus to the natural tendency to movement. Something like when you leave a marble on the uneven floor and it rolls, and continues without force applied. It's just something that happens. And will always go. It has nothing to do with will, but only a happening that's carries on going, and always will once was set in motion. So it is for all things. For nature alike, and one cannot increase or decrease it as it is independent of ones will. Is seems to me the author gave it's approach by Nietzsche's understanding of will to power, the desire to exist. Spinoza talks of existence regardless of will. He talks not of increasing happiness directly, but decreasing suffering, and thus increase happiness. And not that is self centered, but as we are one, once one decreases one's suffering also decreases for all. As all is one but the same.
I don't see how these interpretations are different. The natural tendency of a living being to live; to persist despite external vectors (entropic or otherwise); is the same as the desire to exist. Nietzsche supposed that the will to power was the exercise of the desire to exist, or rather, that wanting to exist and wanting power are synonymous.
This is such a good presentation of Spinoza. I'm glad to understand I'm unfolding to the universe about me, and I'm not separate from it. It seems pantheist applies to me. Thanks so much for this.
Last week the NYT wrote that Spinoza is a/the philosopher for these times. I had to know what they were talking about. It turns out that his work, while complex, offers explanations for the core of my elementary understanding of God & the One Universal source supply of all things. His refinement of the mechanics of relationship is exquisite. Thank you ~
I've watched your video to the it's full extent, this is what the internet should be all about, creating and sharing knowledge for the good of everyone. Most valuable one hour I have spent during the whole week. Thank you so much ! ! !
This is pretty much what I use the internet for. Although the algorithm keeps sending shorts of people going down water park slides and female track and field for some reason.
@@jichaelmorgan3796
It’s probably based on previous searches…🐈🤷♂️
Good and bad are RELATIVE. 😉
Incidentally, Slave, are you VEGAN? 🌱
I don't normally comment, but this video is so good that I want to increase its engagement. Great work!
Same
Good on you, both! I’m with you folks.
@Roberto Biagio Randazzo …and yet he’s well known and you are not. Who should people listen to? Just using a little logic.
Then you 'abnormally' comment on the fact that its "so good"? I totally disagree.I normally comment when I see grand work on UA-cam..This DUDE almost certainly guarantees it.. However, in a sense of UA-cam being 'mostly pastiche', The Dude's videos do seem abnormally misplaced.. He needs real investors (educational funding) and a totally different pedagogical venue...btw...I know talent when I see it too..haha
@@terrymarshall6961 What do you mean? I don't really get what you are saying.
Amazing how Spinoza spent his entire life on this concept and we have it at the free range of our fingertips; further more, the person creating this video and breaking it down to a more understandable concept, is truly luxurious. Thank you so much for your video!
Seems like a giant waste of time. These ideas are pretty common among all people. I've had them my entire life. I guess that means I am special haha
@@ADUAquascaping Everyone's at their own pace, though I am glad to hear you are able to understand things quicker ☺
@@ADUAquascaping nobody's special
@@ADUAquascaping Let me get this straight; ; You're saying that the ideas of Spinoza are "a giant waste of time", (I have no opinion regarding this), & "these
are the ideas you have had your entire life". Then it logically follows, that your life, according to your own admission / observation, must be " a giant waste of time"
I'm not trying to be being mean spirited, or judgemental, I'm just connecting the
dots as you have presented them.
@@daskitten1 i just love how rude logic can be at times. Good question.
When I found out about Spinoza, I felt a huge relief. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who idolizes such a mindset. What a beautiful way to see the world. Absolutely incredible job on this video.
Nooo nooo nooo
Just as long as you remember to think about the cause and perfection. Too many followers of Spinoza today butcher his teachings and essentially only take the easy loads in their life everytime because their selfish and their definition of perfect is complete laziness and stupidity.
@@LuckyvillageLifeexplain 🇺🇸
@@saythankyou111in terms of humans in positions of stability, preying on other humans in positions of instability, which personality types are more likely to predate, or use systematic and deliberated applications to undermine another in order to foster the circumstances for preying to be easier?
Spinosas’ text seems in areas, like criminal pathology?
Motive, purpose and ego, didn’t appear in the list of traits of the free psychology?
If feelings of power make one free, is self sustainment by the systematic undermining of others stability a sensible action, or is it called fascism by which the cowardly, or whiley prey on the ignorant and innocent to increase the illusion of their own value at another’s expense? 😷
What kind of civilisation would that make? Sounds like the meek would inherit the earth by broadcasting its intelligent influence via a vastness of glow in the dark teeth? Invisible to its own kind, obviously.
@@lucyhanks500 wow….that’s fantastic even if I only understood a wee bit…..😳thank you..
Having first watched this when it first came out, going down the rabbit hole, and now coming back to it a couple years later, this video truly changed parts of how I think and interact with the world. Amazing piece of work
Hello, I am a chilean teacher of English who lives in Brazil and fell in love with this channel. It's so good to find a treasure like this, that I consider it my Christmas present.
This is a phenomenal introduction to Spinoza for anyone interested in his ideas. And it was knitted together beautifully with sound and vision. Thank you for this. I've watched it twice, now.
This is one of the most complete videos I've ever seen on Spinoza, damn incredible dude.
Agree with you, excellent work, thank you
cant believe that nobody sees how flawed spinozas line of thinking is..
1. you making conscious decisions is still "the universe unfolding". you are still ON THE LINE. your braincells are part of nature. your thoughts (synapses) formed as reaction to outside triggers. you are still as choiceless as you where before. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. its already in the calculation that you will resist your "feelings" at this momment in time when you do it. your still following the feeling that you should ignore your feeling.
2. the chain of events is so unimaginable long. even if you are aware of some causes and effects you only are aware of 0.0000000000000000000000000000001%. you are unaware of more things then you can ever be aware of. even the most ZEN MONK didnt consider every atom in his body at every momment in time relating to every other atom in the universe. so, to think that you can make the universe stop by understanding these rly short chain of events (a tree needs nutrients) is complete arrogant (hybris) and not smart. you breathing still has a butterfly effect! no matter if you resist your feelings.
But we are NOT made up of atoms... We are made of plasma.
@@cinaannie7338 there are still atoms in plasma, I'm just starting the video so I'm not sure your exact reference
dude? so sad
This video series is the best application of a Philosophy degree I've ever encountered. They are simply briliantly researched and presented. I first watched the Kant video about a year ago, and now I'm watching this one and the one on Marx. This is peak educational UA-cam!
I’ve watched dozens of videos on Spinoza, read dozens of books… including the Ethics. This video is the only time I’ve ever really (really) understood what Spinoza was trying to articulate in his writings. Thank you.
Thanks for shedding light on a difficult subject! 🤓😊
That revelation should cause some very deep questioning.
Dozens of books???
Spinoza is -in essence- the most simple thing to encounter.
Go into Tibetan Buddhism and you'll see the same (without the reason/rational part).
As a population we still don't grasp the fact that we are one.
Simply because extracting resources gives short-term extacy (and long-term suffering).
And no, I am not religious, in any way. I just understood Spinoza 25+ years ago.
Indian philosophy speaks the same. Initially to understand the forces of nature ( includes likes dislikes, Good and bad etc and his own action or reaction) through which human being understands that origin of difference broods within due to lack of
'Jnana' . Once it dawns that there is no second thing other than the existence in universe i.e. 'Adwaita' there is no pain or pleasure but only realisation of self and universe as one and there is no distinction between the realizing subject, realized Jnana and the process of realization.
I’m a practicing Buddhist from Asia and when I was studying Western philosophy in Uni, the only person that really spoke to me was Baruch Spinoza.
Desire leads to all misery.
@@gein2287 or pleasure
@Jacque And? Who wants continuous pleasure? Life is an art of proportionality.
Wow, you’re from an entire continent?
This is basicly Dao de jing
This genuinely turned out so well. This really is one of your best. I definitely didn't expect this to be so in-depth and so representative of the subtextual context with Spinoza! Reading the Ethics alone, in my mind, still doesn't get his objectives across, and you nailed those objectives here. Truly, again, did not expect this video to turn out so well. Even happier that I was able to be apart of this. Thanks for allowing me to be apart of this! (Sorry in advance to everyone, Lewis's voice is much better than mine. My voice kind of sucks. But, you need the bad to recognize the good, yeah?)
Thank you! You were great and really added to the video. Many thanks again. Everyone check out Epoch Philosophy!
Mah boy Epoch
@@Bojoschannel Good to see you here, dude!
You only need the bad until you can recognize the good. After that the bad is no longer needed. I think sometimes that obvious fact is ignored by people or not seen.
And you too. Thank you for all you do.
I’m so happy that my tripping experiences are now documented in such a clear manner ie this video
same
Exactly..!😊
Wtf are you babbling on about? Your probably fifteen years old
@@bbk9787 why are you so rude? I'm actually 34 years old. I invite you to watch some video on "ego death" or "satori state", if you want to explore the connection between tripping and Spinoza. I understand that people who got to experience Spinoza's God by practicing meditation look down upon those who did via LSD or DMT.
Alan Watts also puts it beautifully in his talks. He even did a talk on LSD and the realization that "You are It". (You might know it)
There is not so much good content on UA-cam about Spinoza for beginners, and this video fills that void. Thank you for the good work
A very well presented overview of historically difficult material. Well done and thank you.
Thank you for this beautiful video
I'm only 15 minutes into this and am blown away at how well you put this together. It is a pleasure to watch!
I second that !
I dunno…5 minutes in and still nothing. “Let me me make some generalized introductory comments to lead into the next set of generalized introductory comments.” Everything is everything.
I don't believe in the idea of a "life changing video" but this has to be an exception.
And the way you have explained and taught Spinoza's ideas is awe-inspiring.
@@Explorer-7 To believe is not to trust but to have faith; to trust is a more concrete idea which is to know that your faith is true objectively. Maybe I wrongly used the word "believe" I should have said, "I had no idea life changing videos existed." Thanks for pointing this out hope I can become more articulate as I get older.
Can you please tell me what about this video is so life changing? I find it very simple obvious ideas
@@HVAC356 sometimes something can be both simple and obvious and also life-changing... it just depends how the concepts meet you and interact with you. What may move one person might have no effect on another simply based on what ideas each person has encountered already
How would you prove robot has consciousness using empirical data. How do you prove to blind man what color red is using empirical data. In theory, robot can be programmed to move its hand when it touches hot surface. How do I know its having the experience of hot using test tube(Deduction/induction). The only thing i am certain of is that i have experience of hot. This experience can only come from entity that can already experience existence (Allah-one/indivisible/self-sufficient/unique/All-Loving infinite perfection). If you cannot prove your own consciousness using “scientific method”, then how can you reject the existence of Perfect/infinite metaphysical being(Allah)? “Cogito ergo sum”( I think therefore I am) should be read as “cogito ergo est”(I think therefore Allah is)
Thanks!
As a callow and confused youth I tried, and mostly failed, to understand The Ethics. A long life later your breakdown of his message sits well within me. I really enjoyed this content. Thank you so much.
In my 7+ years on UA-cam I don't think I've ever before immediately replayed a video longer than 10 minutes to which I was fully paying attention. The ideas expressed here are so profound and line up so beautifully with so many of the mini-philosophies I've formed over the course of my years as a fully self-aware human being. I'm sure I would've eventually learned about Spinoza one way or another but this is the most compelling introduction I could've possibly asked for. Thank you for putting this out into the world.
You're just another person looking for what you want to hear and deny the existence of God. Nature isn't a conscious intelligent being, it is the result of a conscious intelligent being.
Is a computer, nature, which is God? No, it takes conscious intelligent being to make a computer, it took conscious intelligent being to make nature.
I’ve been a huge fan of this channel for awhile, but this one is incredible in every sense: production(!!!), narration, pacing, music, etc.
I’m absolutely blown away...terrific work.
wasn't very good academically. Read a little Spinoza and you will see the dramatic drop in clarity of his message here. this is like a badly written Spinoza commercial or something. if you Read the mans work you will be in for a boon instead of a stupid sweet treat like this. He's also just wrong about certain fashionable aspects of the literature. He's Derivative in the 20th cent way of slang meaning.
@@erikred8217 to be completely honest, you kinda just sound jealous
@@erikred8217 waaaa something isnt perfect based on my guidelines therefore its trash, waaaaa
@@erikred8217do you have examples?
Thanks for making this video. Spinosa was always on my list of philosopher but very hard to read and understand without a teacher or explanations. I finally had a great introduction to his way of thinking, which are truly beautiful and inspiring. I find my self agreed with him in most of his reasoning.
This is so good! I' ve been in my life bubble for days, and this video made me realizes how I had reacted to many affects in my life, and this made me changed my perspective towards it. I'm getting interested in the work of Spinoza, thanks for making this video!
Good lord this presentation is absolutely amazing! The more I more look into philosophy, the stronger the urge grows in me to become a knower and re-distributer of philosophy.
I'm not trying to down play Spinoza in any way here.. just saying, many of he's concepts and ideas of freedom, relativity and the web-like structure of nature are almost identical to the shamanic philosophies of ancient Mexico, dating back thousands of years before his human birth. Great ideas never die.
Peace from Denmark 🇩🇰
And even before then, the ancient egyptians. To say he's the first...I dunno
I loved coming upon this beautiful (in many ways) video. I see how through the years of our human existence, this information has come through. It seems to me that what Spinoza tapped into is the Universal knowledge that the ancient ones before him also expressed. Yes, I see it in the Shamans, in the Vedas and other teachings from Ancient India. These teaching are currently being embraces through what some people categorize as New Age. I believe they are the closest TRUTH of this experience we are living. Thank you to Spinoza and all those who have reminded us of this glory.
Great wisdom, great minds .. all connected. :)
Love the video.
World Peace 🌎
@@sanyo8440 right, but still before the ppl he spoke about. The ppl of Sudan and the southeast migrated together.
Animism has been sharing these same ideas of connectivity of all things for thousands of years.
And then we have also advaita vedanta and daoism which share same concepts about identifying self as the universe thousands of years before Spinoza.
Perhaps, until few centuries ago these ideas weren't shared yet to the west world, so for that area Spinoza was the first to talk loudly about this philosophy towards life.
Nevertheless, it does not matter who was first to bring up this philosophy. All is one!
Damn. From killer leftist content on political theory, to current affairs, to Spinoza and the interconnected nature of all things...with Epoch Philosophy narrating to boot. This is surely one of my new favorite channels.
Thank you for all the stellar work you do Then & Now. Keep knocking it out of the park.
Killer leftists are common
@Ed His channel is most certainly focused on leftist content. He doesn't make his aesthetic centered around that. But it is what it is. He's a progressive/leftist. If me acknowledging that turned you off, then do a deep dive on what actual leftism is, and then go and watch Then and Now's content and get back to me.
@Ed And no. Fence sitting in a time when the right is actively looking and succeeding at rolling back the rights of women and minorities, while embracing Christian Nationalism and trying to turn the entire country against LGBTQ ppl...you ever heard the Edmund Burke quote?
"For evil to triumph all that is necessary is for good men to do nothing."
While I get what you're trying to say; you're making a statement against tribalism...at this point and juncture of time, we don't have a whole lot of choice. I hate tribalism as much as the next guy, but these tribes do exist. If I could snap my fingers and do away with a left/right divide, I would. Sadly, that's not a choice. If one side wants to limit individual freedom while the other side wants to protect and enable said freedom, then I'm going with the side that is in defense of freedom.
Leftists are the worst possible people for the earth. Read Ted Kaczynski's book, "Industrial society and it's future", and learn about yourself and all other leftists from someone intelligent. Politics are a joke meant to distract and divide the unwashed masses. No different than two fans of rival sports teams going at it. The sport organizers and the teams/players always win in the end regardless of who wins the game.
@@chickensalad7199 If you want a world where everyone is equal, then you first have to do away with Islam, a religion where LGBT and women's rights are non existent. You have to do away with most minorities too, because minorities are some of the most conservative people in their beliefs. You know what else you have to do away with? Leftist politicians keeping blacks and other minorities poor, uneducated and addicted to drugs. How can there be equality when welfare exists for these perfectly able people to not work and sit at home or on the streets all day supported by Gov't assistance programs? Why do they need asistance in the first place? Are they taught to not work hard like everyone else? Are they given assistance and unfair advantages and oppurtunities like getting into college easier or employers being required to hire a certain number of minorities like black people because leftist politics see them as unequal to whites? These are the questions you should ask yourself. I am a first gen Mexican immigrant to the USA btw, I'm not some white supremacist.
This video is really amazing, the amount of knowledge shared, the great examples, the peaceful narration, I absolutely loved every minute of it and will be re watching often.
What an absolutely amazing job presenting this topic. You took something that was extremely difficult to portray and with your visual, personal and quotations from the masters this really is a top-notch piece of educational work. As a Director in the TV business for 20 years, I will be sharing this video with my close friends who are interested in such topics. The difficult thing is still trying to introduce these topics to people, who are just not interested and improving and unfolding their own lives so it’s up to us educate ourselves to be more calm and rational and difficult times so we can be good models in society. Thank you again for sharing.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m thrilled to hear that you found the presentation effective and valuable. It’s great that you’ll be sharing it with your friends! I completely agree that educating ourselves is crucial for fostering calm and rational discussions in society. Your support means a lot!
Thank you for articulating Spinozas philosophies so well, your breakdowns were really digestible and easy to understand!
I have spent a huge amount of time meditating on Spinoza's Philosophy. I even wrote a masters thesis on the Ethics. Your presentation is beautiful. Thank you!
I'm curious as to what your writing touched upon!
My approach was to examine the interrelationships in the "Ethics" of his metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics that lead to his climactic conclusion that the intellectual love of God is identical with God's love being returned. Hence, I treated it as a full-fledged spiritual instruction in the tradition of the more general Socratic/Platonic spiritual tradition otherwise known simply as western philosophy. In other words, I hypothesis that an essential aspect of western philosophy as espoused by Socrates/Plato is its being a spiritual path. An extremely difficult path to traverse, but as Socrates/Plato implied and Spinoza explicitly stated, it must be difficult otherwise how can we account for the fact that so few have traveled the road sufficiently.
I'm not religious now, nor have I ever been. But since this video came out every couple weeks I will relisten to it and I can only imagine I feel like churchgoers do when the pastor is really spitting. Spinosa seems to tie together many course ideas I had swimming in my head about life, meaning, etc in a way I never could. And your presentation and expansion of the material is perfect
It's Spinoza's philosphy effect. The same thing happened to mo the first time I read his book The Ethics.
more philosophy videos should be like this !! so engaging and accurate, usually on here it's one or the other... great stuff :D
Incredibly Swell Done! Awesome use of technology… Just spent Christmas morning repeatedly viewing! Wrote a dissertation, “Bodies of Knowledge: Perception in Spinoza & Whitehead” So Glad George Elliot’s English translation of Spinoza’s Ethics from 1858 was finally published… Clare Carlisle, Moira Gatens, other women, also offer important perspectives on Spinoza… Thank you!
Thank you so much for summarising the brilliant mind of Spinoza's ideas in a straightforward framework. Respectfully.
I have read Spinoza's writings since I was ten years old in the Great Books of the Western World collection in 1954. I have often wondered why the rest of world didn't appreciate his insight and ideas. It is always a pleasure to discover that his wonderful works are being discovered by future generations.
This was freaking AWESOME! Could not stop listening. I heard little snips of Spinoza many times but never dug deeper, been focusing on other philosophers. This was so educational and your voice is soothing. 🙌🏽 🧠💡⚡️🌅 👁 🌈 🐲 🎯 Great for the entire family too.
philosophy:
the love of wisdom, normally encapsulated within a formal academic discipline. Wisdom is the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, insight, and good judgment. Wisdom may also be described as the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period. E.g. “The wisdom of the Tibetan lamas.”
Unfortunately, in most cases in which this term is used, particularly outside India, it tacitly or implicitly refers to ideas and ideologies that are quite far-removed from genuine wisdom. For instance, the typical academic philosopher, especially in the Western tradition, is not a lover of actual wisdom, but a believer in, or at least a practitioner of, adharma, which is the ANTITHESIS of genuine wisdom. Many Western academic (so-called) “philosophers” are notorious for using laborious sophistry, abstruse semantics, gobbledygook, and pseudo-intellectual word-play, in an attempt to justify their blatantly-immoral ideologies and practices, and in many cases, fooling the ignorant layman into accepting the most horrendous crimes as not only normal and natural, but holy and righteous!
An ideal philosopher, on the other hand, is one who is sufficiently intelligent to understand that morality is, of necessity, based on the law of non-violence (“ahiṃsā”, in Sanskrit), and sufficiently wise to live his or her life in such a harmless manner. Cf. “dharma”.
One of the greatest misconceptions of modern times is the belief that philosophers (and psychologists, especially) are, effectively, the substitutes for the priesthood of old. It is perhaps understandable that this misconception has taken place, because the typical priest/monk/rabbi/mullah seems to be an uneducated buffoon compared with those highly-educated gentlemen who have attained doctorates in philosophy, psychology and psychiatry. However, as mentioned in more than a few places in this book, it is imperative to understand that only an infinitesimal percentage of all those who claim to be spiritual teachers are ACTUAL “brāhmaṇa” (as defined in Chapter 20). Therefore, the wisest philosophers of the present age are still those exceptionally rare members of the Holy Priesthood!
At the very moment these words of mine are being typed on my laptop computer, there are probably hundreds of essay papers, as well as books and articles, being composed by professional philosophers and theologians, both within and without academia. None of these papers, and almost none of the papers written in the past, will have any noticeable impact on human society, at least not in the realm of morals and ethics, which is obviously the most vital component of civilization. And, as mentioned in a previous paragraph, since such “lovers-of-wisdom” are almost exclusively adharmic (irreligious and corrupt) it is indeed FORTUITOUS that this is the case. The only (so-called) philosophers who seem to have any perceptible influence in the public arena are “pop” or “armchair” philosophers, such as Mrs. Alisa “Alice” O’Connor (known more popularly by her pen name, Ayn Rand), almost definitely due to the fact that they have published well-liked books and/or promulgate their ideas in the mass media, especially on the World Wide Web.
During undergrad, I remember reading Spinoza's work and it was the only work that made me almost cry.
Try some Alan Watts, so much deeper
What book did you read?
@@sarahhall5714 Watts is as deep as a puddle, only appealing to depressed teenage girls. To imply he's anywhere near the level of complexity of Spinoza is laughable.
@@sarahhall5714 Nah
Spinozas Ethics suck. Some preconceived ideas pretending tue be truths obscured by the “geometrical method”. Nietzsche was absolutely right about Spinoza.
What I love about this vid is that I vividly remember when at 15-16 wandering a pine woods in Wisconsin, pausing to read Epictetus beneath trees, observing everything, that much the same conclusions as those of Spinoza came to me---modes of things intrinsically interconnected. But all was forgotten soon enough!
How odd to rediscover it here. In Mod.Philo. at college we only touched on Spinoza briefly as a response to Descartes (---sad.)!&
At 15, "infinite causality" for me was a revery, and daydream. Now such for me is free will....
Amazing work on making Spinoza's most prolific work understandable for a lot more people.
Good work, looks good everything seen to lineup together in life reality experience."real is was matter"
Great stuff. A lot of good writing here. You express a deep understanding of these men’s thoughts. Thanks for making my day more beautiful and for helping me not to feel alone in my ongoing pondering about life.
When questions have lost their thirst and inside seems dreary and bare. You shed a little light across my window seal and caused the air to come alive like back when we used to sing and dance what a lovely passing of time…
Very well made, engaging. Great personality and tone of voice gave way to a good amount of attentive listening. I was looking for a summary of Spinoza that would engage me and this is it. Well worth sharing. Thank you.
Many thanks! As a Philosophy major in the early 70’s, I ran through Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz as rationalists, but focused elsewhere in my electives. Most useful!
philosophy:
the love of wisdom, normally encapsulated within a formal academic discipline. Wisdom is the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, insight, and good judgment. Wisdom may also be described as the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period. E.g. “The wisdom of the Tibetan lamas.”
Unfortunately, in most cases in which this term is used, particularly outside India, it tacitly or implicitly refers to ideas and ideologies that are quite far-removed from genuine wisdom. For instance, the typical academic philosopher, especially in the Western tradition, is not a lover of actual wisdom, but a believer in, or at least a practitioner of, adharma, which is the ANTITHESIS of genuine wisdom. Many Western academic (so-called) “philosophers” are notorious for using laborious sophistry, abstruse semantics, gobbledygook, and pseudo-intellectual word-play, in an attempt to justify their blatantly-immoral ideologies and practices, and in many cases, fooling the ignorant layman into accepting the most horrendous crimes as not only normal and natural, but holy and righteous!
An ideal philosopher, on the other hand, is one who is sufficiently intelligent to understand that morality is, of necessity, based on the law of non-violence (“ahiṃsā”, in Sanskrit), and sufficiently wise to live his or her life in such a harmless manner. Cf. “dharma”.
One of the greatest misconceptions of modern times is the belief that philosophers (and psychologists, especially) are, effectively, the substitutes for the priesthood of old. It is perhaps understandable that this misconception has taken place, because the typical priest/monk/rabbi/mullah seems to be an uneducated buffoon compared with those highly-educated gentlemen who have attained doctorates in philosophy, psychology and psychiatry. However, as mentioned in more than a few places in this book, it is imperative to understand that only an infinitesimal percentage of all those who claim to be spiritual teachers are ACTUAL “brāhmaṇa” (as defined in Chapter 20). Therefore, the wisest philosophers of the present age are still those exceptionally rare members of the Holy Priesthood!
At the very moment these words of mine are being typed on my laptop computer, there are probably hundreds of essay papers, as well as books and articles, being composed by professional philosophers and theologians, both within and without academia. None of these papers, and almost none of the papers written in the past, will have any noticeable impact on human society, at least not in the realm of morals and ethics, which is obviously the most vital component of civilization. And, as mentioned in a previous paragraph, since such “lovers-of-wisdom” are almost exclusively adharmic (irreligious and corrupt) it is indeed FORTUITOUS that this is the case. The only (so-called) philosophers who seem to have any perceptible influence in the public arena are “pop” or “armchair” philosophers, such as Mrs. Alisa “Alice” O’Connor (known more popularly by her pen name, Ayn Rand), almost definitely due to the fact that they have published well-liked books and/or promulgate their ideas in the mass media, especially on the World Wide Web.
I’m so glad this was recommended. Delighting myself in this knowledge and the glory of synchronicity! Thank you!
II am an amateur obsessed with Spinoza and Deleuze.
I have read the Ethics many times. It is an excellent explanation. It is generally believed that there is no free will in Spinoza. Spinoza's interpretation of free will is unique for me. If you study Spinoza enough to understand him in an adequate way, his influence on you will increase geometrically. I think he is a philosopher who should be studied very well. I congratulate you and thank you again.
This was fascinating and well put together, I’m glad I found you today, thanks for sharing your time and effort with us 😬✌️
Thanks for sharing! 🤗👌
I had just started reading Joyful Militancy: Building Thriving Resistance in Toxic Times by Nick Montgomery and carla bergman when you released this. What timing. I had read “Spinoza’s concept of joy is not an emotion at all, but an increase in one’s power to affect and be affected” minutes before hearing you say the last part in the video
Thanks for bringing to life the Ethics.... Possibly the hardest and most obnoxious format a book has ever been written in... Although the thoughts contained therein are gold. Great work with this video 👍
While studying Spinoza, I found it super interesting that as he ground the lenses for glasses, corresponded with Descartes (if I remember correctly), and studied or was required to study Sephardic Mysticism. Thanks for the work on this. It’s been almost 30 years since I studied critical thinking.
At least you DID study with critical thinkers. Spinoza was a secret Sufi
ua-cam.com/video/lgkcEUmhOsQ/v-deo.html
I also worked in an optical lab, and I spent a lot of time grinding glass lenses, and because of muscle memory, you can let your mind wander as you think about other things.
For the longest time, I've been more in a Pantheistic state of mind, and I've never bought into the God outside of the Universe.
I like to remind myself that it's all included!!!
If someone finds something that they think is outside, they really just need to redraw the borderline, and accept that it always was a part of everything else.
Grazie.
i discovered your channel this morning and I'm blown away, you've changed my entire perspective on life in a couple of hours. Your videos are amazing and so cleverly presented yet easily understandable, I've learned so much already, thank you! Wish you all the best for this channel, you deserve so much more exposure! I will certainly recommend it to every single person I know lol
I need to rewatch again but there is so much great content here that you moved along in a concise and helpful way. You’re destined for great things.
Excellent video about one of the most important philosophers in the Western thought. Among the number of really helpful things Spinoza does, one of the things I've always seen him doing (and appreciated) is a kind of syncing of Epicurean and Stoic thought.
8:54 In my experience my loved one contracted cancer and we spent so much time that we could against the creepy feelings of limitations that's finding ourselves in nature and enjoying abundance of everything being the same natural nature that we all can find. We didn't take it for granted anymore. Each and everything we saw is new and we found each moment as abundantly unique but not separate. We found ourselves as for the Spinoza did... Knowing god is the universe.
Extremely complex video excecuted in a simple clear, elegant way.
Thank you very much!
In college, I had a good friend I'd discuss my view of the world with. Thankfully, my friend was in a philosophy class at the time and told me a lot of what I believed was very similar to the writings of Spinoza. I've been fascinated ever since. Great video. Thank you.
monism:
the view in metaphysics that reality (that is, Ultimate Reality) is a unified whole and that all existing things can be ascribed to or described by a single concept or system; the doctrine that mind and matter are formed from, or reducible to, the same ultimate substance or principle of being; any system of thought that seeks to deduce all the varied phenomena of both the physical and spiritual worlds from a single principle, specifically, the metaphysical doctrine that there is but one substance, either mind (idealism) or matter (materialism), or a substance that is neither mind nor matter, but is the substantial ground of both. Cf. “dualism”.
To put it simply, whilst materialists/physicalists/naturalists believe that the ground of being is some kind of tangible form of matter (or a field of some sort), and idealists/theists/panpsychists consider some kind of mind(s) or consciousness(es) to be most fundamental, MONISTS understand that Ultimate Reality is simultaneously both the Subject and any possible object, and thus one, undivided whole (even though it may seem that objects are, in fact, divisible from a certain standpoint).
The descriptive term favoured in the metaphysical framework proposed in this Holy Scripture is “Brahman”, a Sanskrit word meaning “expansion”, although similes such as “Sacchidānanda” (Eternal-Conscious-Peace), “The Tao” and “The Monad” are also satisfactory.
Perhaps the oldest extant metaphysical system, Advaita Vedānta, originating in ancient Bhārata (India), which is the thesis promulgated in this treatise, “A Final Instruction Sheet for Humanity”, is a decompositional dual-aspect monist schema, in which the mental and the physical are two (epistemic) aspects of an underlying (ontic) reality that itself is neither mental nor physical, but rather, psychophysically neutral. On such a view, the decomposition creates mutually-exclusive mental (subjective) and physical (objective) domains, both of which are necessary for a comprehensive metaphysical worldview. The mere fact that it is possible for Awareness to be conscious of Itself, implies that, by nature, Ultimate Reality is con-substantially BOTH subjective and objective, since it would not be possible for a subject to perceive itself unless the subject was also a self-reflective object. The term “transjective” has been coined by contemporary scholars to account for precisely this reality.
This subject-object duality, and the notion of the transjective, is foundational to a complete understanding of existence/beingness.
Therefore, it seems that the necessary-contingent dichotomy often discussed by philosophers in regards to ontology, is superfluous to the concept of monism, because on this view, BOTH the subjective and the objective realities are essentially one, necessary ontological Being(ness). In other words, because you are, fundamentally, Brahman, you are a necessary being and not contingent on any external force. This concept has been termed "necessitarianism" by contemporary philosophers, in contradistinction to "contingentarianism" - the view that at least some thing could have been different otherwise - and is intimately tied to the notions of causality and determinism in Chapters 08 and 11.
Advaita Vedānta (that is, dual-aspect Monism) is the only metaphysical scheme that has complete explanatory power.
Hypothetically, and somewhat tangentially, one might question thus: “If it is accurate to state that both the Subject of all subjects and all possible objects are equally ‘Brahman’ (that is, Ultimate Truth), then surely that implies that a rock is equally valuable as a human being?”. That is correct purely on the Absolute platform. Here, in the transactional world of relativity, there is no such thing as equality, except within the conceptual sphere (such as in mathematics), as already demonstrated in more than a couple of places in this Holiest of Holy Books, “F.I.S.H”, especially in the chapter regarding the spiteful, pernicious ideology of feminism (Chapter 26).
Cf. “advaita”, “dualism”, “Brahman/Parabrahman”, “Saguna Brahman”, “Nirguna Brahman”, “subject”, “object” and “transjective”.
Hey! 😳 This was recommended to me.., I scrolled past but paused and thought hmmm “ya never know, could be a surprise and be good” 🤷🏼♂️
And guess what..?? So good!! Thanks for quality!
couldn't be more grateful for this awesome documentary
Always been one of my favorite human beings, Spinoza, that is. Your video made me appreciate him even more. Thank you
This is such a great explanation of Spinoza's Ethics!! Great Job!
No it isn't it's trite. it's better than nothing i hope. maybe not.
Trying to make the connection of Spinoza'a pantheism with Enlightenment Age deism.
@@donaldclifford5763 Thank you!!. fkn well said. like anthropomorphization except it is worse and done by those who should have known better.
@@erikred8217 Sounds like we're talking past each other. Just trying to see a connection between pantheism and deism.
@@donaldclifford5763 Ah I see. thanks. for my part the reading of Spinoza here is over reaching, downplaying what he was saying and projecting it's view on his words instead of trying to take them at their own worth. not fair to him. Thanks again Donald. gd luck have fun.
Thank you very much for this. A little embarrassed to admit, I only now found out of Spinoza and his philosophies. Something I read yesterday Einstein said essentially stating he believed in "the God of Spinoza".
Me too.
I'm still confused. If we don't have free will how do we choose? Or did I misunderstand? I have my own personal philosophy that does not correlate with Spinoza if he's saying we don't have free will. And it seems to be contradictory to his own position...
@@1fast72nova as far as I see it and possibly what Spinoza may be saying, is we are a result of our environment and as such we react to it.
In being reactionary rather than analytical, unable/unwilling to consider many perspectives or connections we are in a sense living pre-determined lives. The undeniable fact that we are beholden to the place/time of our birth as well as other circumstances we find outside of our control makes some think life is predetermined.
However, our self determination results from the accumulation of wisdom (understanding) and experience; as well as the correct application of said aspects in order to enact a change in our lives that we consider to be positive and thus is our own experience. The question becomes then, can you self select your interest and ideas and what you consider to be positive or negative or is that too inherited by pure circumstance; to what degree can you use your understandings to shape and change yourself, and is there any you at all deciding?
The exact mechanism of such a system is up for debate, personally I have my own views on how free will fundamentally relates to how consciousness and personal experiences operate. Spinoza says all is one, and god is nature, one and the same. I agree, my question is if all is one then does all act just the same as we do, growing and changing in accordance to stimuli. And if so then is said all really the result of the many and the singular peoples and things conscious choices? In essence, is our impact both infinitely small and infinitely large in scope? Do our choices propagate and continuously select our next destination, cause and effect, on every scale? Not simply the one we can see/experience in front of us?
Sorry for the rambling at the end but these things spark many questions in me as-well and I’m hoping some other soul will come along and share their ideas/questions as I have here.
Hope all is well for you my friend, may life’s waters rock you gently into sleep
@@taconator1213 good post. I started reading "ethics" and alot of it went over my head. I'm having to take Spinoza slowly. Although I don't subscribe to his every thought, his works inspire me to look into my own perspectives.
Can I ask where the concept of “go with your heart” or “go with your gut” comes into this idea that being rational is preferred path to take? The mind surely doesn’t trump the emotions everytime? If for example we took the rational path everytime and experienced little emotional upset or indeed elation, would we not be robbing ourselves of the extremes of lifes emotions, the experience of contrast that drives our desire? Do we want to feel it all or think it all? Being always rational seems somewhat sterile, a balanced mind emotional approach might be perfect but Is there really a right way to do live a good or a perfect life?
Phenomenal , I’ve always believed in this pov. But my version was oversimplified . I love it thank you
Your content is incredible! So inspiring! Thank you for what you do
Danke!
Kinda makes you think about things you’ve done and yet to do
Very interesting and enlightening video, well done
You did a fantastic job and thank you for spreading the wisdom to all. As an artist, I named myself 'Joylove' based on Spinoza's philosophy as joy and love, like you've mentioned, bring us to our greatest version.
Wow. Just WOW!! I have been ostracized by my family for not taking the jab, and it's been a long and VERY hard lonely road to travel. I said a sincere prayer for guidance yesterday after another tirade from my eldest, and now came upon this video. You have NO idea how eye-opening this is to me. It makes EVERYTHING fall into place for me as I did not understand WHY I was so adamant about resisting all the hype. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I saw a video the other day about how ALL trees in a forest are connected by their roots, so this is like another confirmation for me.
holy shit
lmao bruh...
@@konataizumi5829 bruh what? Are you judging him for not taking the clot shot?
Now I know who shaped the ideas I live by. SUCH a relief!
Fantastic stuff. You’ve done a great service putting this out. Cheers
Watching again. Very good work. Thank you!
However, at the age of 70, although I agree with Spinoza that the only way is Rationality (or Chaos) I think, in the end, his is not a Rationalist but rather an Idealist. Most people are "fated" to live and make others live miserably. And nothing can be done beyond Acceptance. So, acceptance, in the end, is the key.
Been to AA eh?
Like Charles Bukowski said and wrote.
I'm 41, love books on history, philosophy, Bible, God, spiritual ideas and truths... Ummmm how am I just hearing about this Spinoza now?
Edit: UA-cam algorithm department needs a supervisor so their staff can supervise AND put out there all greater content! This is almost ridiculous.
Thank you guys! for your time and effort in making great contents•
And thank you UA-cam..., for having great challenging roles...
This will change many lives, it certainly has changed mine. Bless you ☀️
Teşekkürler.
Beautiful film, inspiring and helpful.
someone reply to this comment a year later so i can re watch this video
We gonna give u likes for the duration of one year 😅
Half a year bro this video fireeee
Got u at 6 months
Ohhhh We're half way there. Ohhhh Lemon on a pear. Take my hand, and we'll make it, I swear. Ohhhh lemon on a pear!
Lol
Loved this video! Well explained and the background music plus the images made it really fun to watch.
Takk!
Had a seminar on Spinoza and embarked on a 15 year meditation on good and evil, interplay between the life if the mind, the interplay between the mental and physical, reason and emotions. Powerful.
This is fantastic . Honestly great job . In the past this would've been a tv series
So good explanation of his philosophy!
Great work!🙏
I am really glad to know that BURTON L. CUMMINGS IS NOT GOD. Even though he is convinced and believes he is. He is so damaged by drugs, his pedophilia addiction, fake personality and lies about his past, Cummings is not able to maintain his life anymore. He should be investigated for many crimes against all of us. One false GOD to dispel.
I tried to understand spinozas god by reading many blogs, articles, books etc.. but I never understood it... thanks for your video, which made it incredibly simple to understand.
An amazing overview of Spinoza's weltanschauung. Thank you so much.
I tried to read The Ethics but gave up, too difficult for my restless mind. I am deeply grateful to this great documentary which has made his philosophy accessible to me. And what a wonderful philosophy it is, so useful for guiding us in Life!
I relate. I have an MA, was once a Mensa member, but I cannot read and understand original philosophical works, in particular Kant, Wittgenstein, Heidegger. The best I can do is read secondary explanations of what these authors are saying.
@@NameRequiredSoHere I imagine the longer you immerse yourself in their writing, eventually it just clicks, like learning a language, poetry, philosphy/lit. at lower levels. They are just near black belt levels of readability and digestability. But who has time for that?
Your program was just starting and on in the background while I was deep in thought. The ideas and philosophy is what I needed, at a time where I was in the middle of a difficult decision. Thank you, it was very interesting and very informative.
damn man. what a ride. i guess once you know spinoza you kinda live life a little differently. great work!
This was an incredible overview of Spinoza, phenomenal video!
WELL DONE all the way around. How amazingly verifying that only now have I encountered works about Spinoza. Profoundly thanking you from Chicago, Illinois USA, for sharing via UA-cam.
Watching this is a rational idea and I'm glad I made the more perfect choice. thank you for the time taken to make this possible.
Well edited with good narration, the concepts were made clear as if you had thought of them yourself, and of course spinoza’s philosophy is brilliantly simple, interesting, and practical. Amazing video, 5/10
lol 5/10?
A "god's-eye view" is a very interesting way of desribing the aquisition of (subjectivly) useful knowledge
Everyone watching this might be interested in, "the law of one, the Ra material. Exactly the same concept, channeled through an alien in the 1980s. I'm loving all the synchronicities in my life ever since 2022 started. It's the sign that things are tightening up and falling in place for the mass awakening.
🐟 17. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN SPIRITUAL AWAKENING, LIBERATION, & ENLIGHTENMENT:
AWAKENING:
Any person who has experienced a state of cosmic awareness can rightly be called a “buddha” (a Sanskrit/Pali term for “an awakened being”). During such TEMPORAL experiences (that is, they begin at some point in time and then end at a subsequent point in time, even if at the time of death), there is usually an apparent dissolution of the subject-object dichotomy, or at least a radical shift in one’s perception of life. In the most profound awakening experience, the perceiver, the perceived, and the perceiving, mystically unify (“advaita anubhava”, in Sanskrit).
Awakening means to clearly see that one’s persona is but a character in a dream of The Absolute, and that one is essentially that Flawless Awareness. Therefore, it is not to be taken literally - that the person wakes from the “Cosmic Dream” in the same way that a human wakes from a night dream. It simply implies that the person realizes that he/she is one of the multitude of dream CHARACTERS, and that individual free-will was purely an illusion. When one experiences a night dream, one usually identifies with only one particular character (for example, “last night, I dreamed that I played chess with the prince”). However, all the characters in one's dream originate in the very same mind. Similarly, the living creatures in this universe are naught but characters in the “Mind of God”, to put it in theistic terms.
During such awakenings, one experiences the non-conceptual state, which is somewhat akin to the state of equanimous mind or "steady-mind" (“samādhi”, in Sanskrit). However, samādhi is usually a far longer-term state of being, normally arising after lengthy periods of practice.
Spiritual awakening is a relatively common phenomenon. In fact, there are most probably MILLIONS of persons currently on earth who have experienced some kind of awakening, where they directly perceive themselves to be more than a mere body-mind complex. The experience can be either totally spontaneous, or it can follow many decades of intense spiritual practice (“sādhanā”, in Sanskrit). However, there is no direct causal link between religious practices and awakening experiences, despite what most religionists (“sādhaka”, in Sanskrit) believe.
It is common for newly-awakened persons to CONFUSE and conflate relative and absolute truth. That is to say, when neophyte buddhas speak of relative concepts, they invariably use absolute terms. This is colloquially known as the “spiritual side-step” or as “spiritual bypassing”.
For instance, they may make such statements as: “You don't exist”; “Nothing ever happened”; “There is no right or wrong”; “Everything and/or everyone is equal”; “I am not my body”; “We are One”; and “I am you, and you are me”. Hopefully, such persons will come to see that there is no need to speak about everything from the Absolute perspective. Verily, it is unbeneficial to the persons with whom they are conversing (unless, of course, those third persons are thoroughly deluded materialists, who are unable to see beyond the physical realm).
Awakening to one’s true nature does NOT automatically promote one to being a saint, since one’s unique characteristics, flaws and obsessions may perdure. There is an abundance of evidence that awakening experiences can be induced simply by the administration of certain hallucinogenic drugs, so to claim that one is exceptionally remarkable just for being a buddha, is rather conceited.
Unfortunately (for spiritual-seekers), there is a multitude of awakened or partially-awakened persons who mistakenly believe that they are somehow enlightened masters, and proceed to embark on a teaching career.
The fact is, practically every one of these BOGUS “gurus” are afflicted with a narcissistic, demonic mentality, bereft of morality, and ought to be exposed and denounced for the fraudsters that they are.
As will be very succinctly explained in forthcoming chapters of this Holy Scripture, it is the sacred duty of members of the Priesthood ALONE to disseminate religious/spiritual knowledge throughout society (or to be more accurate, teach seminarians and the leader of the government, who in turn teach other men, who in turn teach their own subordinates). Simply attaining a “spiritual state”, even with the benefit of a vast body of knowledge, does not automatically confer authority on a person to become a spiritual master (“guru”, in Sanskrit). There is, in fact, an enormous gulf between the two (that is, between an awakened non-priest working as a spiritual teacher, and an enlightened spiritual master).
Most persons would undoubtedly disapprove of a person stealing the property of another, yet think nothing of a working-class chap or a mere woman performing the function of a priest (“brāhmaṇa”, in Sanskrit). The fact is, when any person (other than a priest/guru) assumes the role of a spiritual leader, he or she is quite LITERALLY stealing the occupation of a priest. The phrase “The blind leading the blind” is pertinent here.
By understanding the entirety of this “Final Instruction Sheet for Humanity”, it shall assist one in the discernment necessary to distinguish an actual spiritual master from a person who may superficially seem to be a wise and holy teacher by the masses, yet is, in fact, a charlatan.
Unfortunately, only a wise sage can identify his peers, so it requires a genuine prophet to recognize which spiritual teachers are ACTUAL masters. Nevertheless, as a general rule, at least ninety-nine per cent of those giving spiritual precepts to society, are unqualified to do so (see Chapter 20 to know the prerequisites for a member of the Holy Priesthood. Despite what many believe, priests are not at all ordinary men).
LIBERATION:
“Liberation” means “freedom”. Thus, a liberated soul is a person who has become emancipated from the five kinds of suffering (blame, shame, pride, regrets/expectations, and anxiety), all of which are based on the belief in personal AGENCY. Read Chapter 15 to understand the nature of suffering, and Chapter 11 to understand that humans are not independent agents with freedom of volition.
Awakening experiences are not a prerequisite to being liberated from suffering.
LIKEWISE, not all liberated persons are automatically enlightened (at least not to the degree necessary in order to be labelled as such), but there is a strong correlation between the two states of being. It's possible to be liberated, whilst not possessing a deep understanding of life.
A liberated person is scarce, because very few understand the true nature of suffering, and of those who do understand the distinction between psycho-physical pain and ACTUAL (psychological) suffering, it is difficult to surrender to one's circumstances, free of obsessive thinking and judging. Liberated souls are usually those who have diligently practiced one of the four systems of yoga described in Chapter 16.
Cont...
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love…”
I've really enjoyed this, thank you. 🙏🏽 I listen to your videos almost every single night. I don't agree with everything, nor am I supposed to. I appreciate your videos because they make me think about the topics. They remind me of my love of wisdom.
Thank you all my life I was repulsed by people whose life was guided by impulse & irrational but now it all makes sense because the result of their lives speaks for itself & shows Spinoza's wisdom.
Spinoza’s body of work should be foundational in all modern education. Great video making his work more accessible for the masses.
What a brilliant exposition. Thank you so much. So much food for thought there.
Brilliantl video, really engaging and informative. Best video on Spinoza I have seen.
The berry is not a cowberry by the way, but more likely a rosehip.
Good stuff.. Life is a journey. We ask questions to the Universe and it always answers. Sometimes it takes years of trying to figure it out. And then one day you get the answer and remember the journey you chose in order to receive that answer. Story of the High road or Low road perspective. The Moral high ground will always get you there safely. The low road is more exciting and full of danger and endless possibilities and choices. Being built for the low road is what it takes to eventually make it back to that fork in the road. And continue on with wisdom.
Technology. The internet. AGI. This is how I feel the East and West will one day come together. Having been born in India and learnt and understood the concepts in this video through stories since childhood, I can really relate to Spinoza - a great mind born in the West who likely had little or no access to Eastern / Vedic texts. All the secrets of the universe might already have been written down. It’s the limitation of our minds (and our dogmas) that perhaps prevent us from realizing it.
I was fortunate to find the Mahabharata, which opened up my mind!
I have a devotion to Ganesha, and still enjoy learning about Indian spirituality.
This video is supportive of mindfulness, which I have taught after studying Indian Yoga Breath with Dr. Nair.
It’s a beautiful world and I seek validation of my ideology of Beauty every day.
I hope I will find my way to visit India one day.
Womp womp
Truly a great video! Your work is excellent and is invaluable.
Great video, thanks!
Still i have a different interpretation of conatus.
I think that Spinoza calls conatus to the natural tendency to movement.
Something like when you leave a marble on the uneven floor and it rolls, and continues without force applied. It's just something that happens. And will always go.
It has nothing to do with will, but only a happening that's carries on going, and always will once was set in motion.
So it is for all things. For nature alike, and one cannot increase or decrease it as it is independent of ones will.
Is seems to me the author gave it's approach by Nietzsche's understanding of will to power, the desire to exist.
Spinoza talks of existence regardless of will. He talks not of increasing happiness directly, but decreasing suffering, and thus increase happiness.
And not that is self centered, but as we are one, once one decreases one's suffering also decreases for all. As all is one but the same.
Conatus is a bit like "life" isn't it?
I don't see how these interpretations are different.
The natural tendency of a living being to live; to persist despite external vectors (entropic or otherwise); is the same as the desire to exist.
Nietzsche supposed that the will to power was the exercise of the desire to exist, or rather, that wanting to exist and wanting power are synonymous.
Inertia, momentum, path of least resistance, wind, unseen, precognitive desire, the work of God
The natural tendency of life is to continue to live and reproduce as much as possible.
Am my
This is such a good presentation of Spinoza. I'm glad to understand I'm unfolding to the universe about me, and I'm not separate from it. It seems pantheist applies to me. Thanks so much for this.
Last week the NYT wrote that Spinoza is a/the philosopher for these times. I had to know what they were talking about. It turns out that his work, while complex, offers explanations for the core of my elementary understanding of God & the One Universal source supply of all things. His refinement of the mechanics of relationship is exquisite.
Thank you ~
Just copied Al arabi